Sunrise in the Drake Passage

June 15, 2022 • 7:15 am

Taken on my fourth transit this year. I found this on my iPhone and decided to post it.

The Drake Passage, between the tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, is one of the roughest stretches of water in the world. I crossed it four times this year: twice it was calm (“Drake Lake”, they call it then), but twice there were 20-50 foot waves and everybody fell over, vomited, or lost their plates in the dining room.

Here it’s fairly calm.

A map. There are two other ways to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific via ship: the Beagle Channel and the Straits of Magellan. Most ships avoid the Drake Passage.

Brown Station, Antarctica:

 

6 thoughts on “Sunrise in the Drake Passage

  1. Ah, this hit the spot — BTW I picked up a sort of coffee table book on Antarctica … title is …

    The Complete Encyclopedia – Antarctica and the Arctic
    David McGonigal
    2001

    Has two pages on evolution.

  2. Lovely portrait of the penguin. It seems to be thinking, “Ah yes! Another balmy 20°(F) day with a mild wind-chill!”

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